


Echo

by BlueNeutrino



Series: A Hunter's Heart in an Angel's Hands [19]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Cardiophilia, Echocardiograms, Heartbeats, M/M, Medical Procedures, and Cas goes with him, and they kind of enjoy it, where Dean goes to the doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-02-22 05:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2496146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueNeutrino/pseuds/BlueNeutrino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now that Dean knows he has a heart condition, Cas thinks he should see a doctor. That doesn't stop Cas wishing he could be the one to take care of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm continuing the theme of the last couple of fics, but I now have an update schedule planned up to Halloween because I'll be posting a dark cardiophilia/horror themed fic for that as a prompt fill for wisepuma23. So, stay tuned for something a bit different! I have multiple prompts and other ideas I'm working on for this series that should keep me occupied for a couple of months, but please feel free to send in more!

It’s early morning in the bunker when Cas brings it up again. Dean’s just pulled on a shirt and is ready to head down to breakfast when he turns to find Cas staring at him with a serious expression.

“I think you should see a doctor.” Cas just bites the bullet and says it. He’s worried. The other night proved there’s definitely something the matter with Dean’s heart, and the angel ought to be able to tell what and fix it, but he can’t, and it’s making him anxious. It’s been preying on his mind for days, and he thinks it’s about time he outright tells Dean how he feels.

He’s expecting Dean to put up a fight and insist he’s fine, but the response surprises him.

“I know.”

That throws Cas for a loop. The argument he’d been preparing to make about Dean not being fine and needing to be checked up quickly fades. “You agree with me?”

Dean nods, his own expression as serious as Cas’, but with an underlying attempt to look reassuring. “Yeah. I’m not gonna just ignore it and hope it goes away again. That’s why I’ve made an appointment to see someone.”

Now Cas is really surprised, but not in a bad way. “Really? When?”

“Next week. There’s a clinic about an hour’s drive away that had a free slot. I was gonna tell you nearer the time, so you didn’t get all impatient and antsy waiting for it, but I guess now you know.”

“Well…I’m pleased to hear that.” Cas honestly doesn’t quite know how to react. He is undeniably pleased that Dean’s taking responsibility like this, it’s just that he hadn’t expected it. “Would you like me to come with you?”

“Do you want to?” Dean bites his lip, looking uncertain.

It takes Cas a moment to figure out why Dean’s so hesitant, but then he contemplates the image of Dean shirtless on an examination table having his heart checked over while Cas watches, and it occurs to him that it feels incredibly awkward. Cas is pretty sure the thoughts he’s having are not ones that would be appreciated in a medical institution. “That may be inappropriate…”

His own response lacks conviction, and Dean gives him a knowing look. “But you still want to?”

Cas swallows. “Yes.” He can’t exactly deny it. It’s something he’d love to watch, although he’s worried it would make Dean uncomfortable.

Dean doesn’t seem to share his concerns. “Well, I guess you should come with me then. It’d probably make you feel better if you could see that the doctor’s doing a thorough job.”

“That’s true…” Cas doesn’t think he’s going to take much convincing, but Dean’s prepared to argue for it anyway.

“I mean, all you have to do is watch, right? Nobody in the room is gonna know what you’re thinking but me.” He gives Cas a flirtatious wink and then moves closer to him, bringing their faces just a few inches apart. “All the doctor knows is that you’re there for moral support. If it gives you ideas…well, we can take care of that afterwards.” He finishes closing the distance and presses his lips against Cas’; soft, tender, and for now, chaste.

The kiss lingers for a few heartbeats before Cas pulls back an inch. “You don’t expect me to watch somebody else listen to your heartbeat and not get jealous?”

He’s pouting a little, and Dean chuckles. “I never said I expected you to not get jealous.” They kiss again, this time more aggressively, lips parting to allow them to taste more of each other. Dean’s mouth is inviting and warm as Cas’ tongue slowly enters it, exploring deeper while Dean’s hands move to twist in his hair and draw him nearer. Cas can’t resist moving a hand to Dean’s neck, fingers curling around the nape while his thumb gently compresses the pulse point below Dean’s jaw, allowing him to feel the way Dean’s heart is thumping so quickly for him.

It’s over a minute later when they finally pull apart, realising it’s about time they headed down to breakfast. Cas gives a slight disappointed huff as his lips leave Dean’s and his hand falls away. “I think I’m going to find the wait for next week very frustrating.”

“I thought you might.” Dean takes hold of his hand as they prepare to leave the bedroom, giving it an affectionate squeeze. “But how about I drink plenty of coffee for breakfast and you listen to my heart afterwards?”

Cas squeezes his hand back, smiling broadly. “I’d like that.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so sorry about how long this took to update! I began writing this chapter ages ago, but got very sidetracked writing other things. I'm hoping that this time I'll get the final chapter up fairly soon.

Dean shivers as the cool stethoscope is pressed onto his skin. The doctor doesn’t seem to notice, eyes cast down as she concentrates on the sound of Dean’s heart. Dean swallows nervously. He feels very exposed sitting here on the side of the exam table, chest bared while a complete stranger auscultates his heart, and he can’t quite decide if it’s okay for him to enjoy this or not. His eyes drift over the doctor’s shoulder to where Cas is sat watching, and as he meets the angel’s gaze, he feels his heart skip. Cas is giving him The Look. If the doctor weren’t in the room, Dean is pretty sure he’d be getting fucked right now on this exam table with Cas holding the stethoscope on his chest. As it is, the angel is just giving him a silent promise that that is exactly what’s going to happen later. Dean gulps and looks away. The last thing he needs is to get hard in the middle of a cardiovascular exam.

The doctor must have heard the flutter in his heart, although she doesn’t comment. Instead, she shifts the diaphragm to another spot on Dean’s chest and reminds him to keep breathing deeply through his mouth. Dean does, trying to keep his heart rate normal so that if there actually _is_ a problem, she’ll hear it. He hasn’t forgotten why he’s here, and he’s wondering if maybe it was a bad idea to have Cas in the room after all. With Cas staring at him to make his heart pound harder, he’s sure the doctor can’t actually make an accurate diagnosis.

“Are you feeling okay?” the doctor asks as she moves the stethoscope lower on his chest again. When she touches it to Cas’ favorite spot to listen, Dean’s breath catches. “Your heart rate does seem slightly elevated.”

“I’m fine,” Dean replies, and then clears his throat. “Just a little nervous.”

She smiles sympathetically. “That can happen. I understand you must be feeling a little anxious. Just keep trying to breathe.”

Dean stays silent to allow her to continue the exam, still resolutely not looking directly at Cas as she moves the diaphragm to the last area to auscultate. He can feel his heart racing below the stethoscope, demanding attention, although it isn’t painful like it had been the other week. There’s still the hope that maybe whatever had happened was just a one time thing and that the problem has passed on its own, but if Cas couldn’t figure out what was wrong, Dean really doesn’t know how much luck the doctor will have diagnosing it either.

She flips the chestpiece over to listen with the bell and then moves around all of his heart valves again, asking him to hold his breath at different points. “Okay, you can lie down now,” she says when she’s finished, pulling back to allow Dean to swing his legs up from off the side of the exam table and lie down flat. As Cas leaves his field of vision completely and he’s left staring up at the ceiling, his heart begins to pound even harder. The imagined picture of Cas staring at him only serves to heighten his inconvenient arousal more than the real thing.

Fortunately, it doesn’t go much further before he feels warm hands press against his chest, and he tenses. The touch is alien, the fingers too small and too soft to be Cas’, and it makes him nervous. He closes his eyes and tries to relax, letting the doctor continue with the exam.

From across the room, Cas watches. His fingers twitch jealously as his eyes trace the movement the doctor’s hands make across Dean’s chest, letting himself imagine the feel of Dean’s heartbeat beneath them. Part of him desperately wants to be the one touching Dean like that, but he knows the doctor has a better chance of diagnosing the problem than he did, and he can’t pretend he isn’t enjoying watching. The doctor continues to palpate Dean’s chest for a couple more minutes, pressing her fingertips to Dean’s apex beat. It’s the spot that Cas knows intimately well, and he can almost feel the thrumming in his own fingertips as he imagines Dean’s heartbeat beneath them.

“Alright, can you roll onto your left side for me?” the doctor asks Dean, and as the hunter shifts, it brings him into eye contact with Cas again. Dean’s eyes widen, his lips part, and Cas swallows as he sees the look on his face. There’s just the faintest blush of pink spreading under Dean’s skin, probably noticeable only to Cas, but it betrays his embarrassment over how much he’s enjoying this. There’s just the slightest hitch in his breath as the doctor puts on the stethoscope once again and places the end over his mitral valve. Cas can’t help the barely-contained smile that tugs at his lips, and Dean smiles shyly back.

The doctor spends several seconds listening at that spot before removing the diaphragm from Dean’s skin and gesturing for him to sit up. He blinks at her as she slings the stethoscope around her neck and then goes to note down a couple of things in his file.

“How was it?” Cas asks before Dean has chance, his own anxiety to know what’s wrong with Dean’s heart kicking in.

The doctor looks up at him and then over at Dean, directing her reply towards the hunter. “I couldn’t detect anything majorly concerning, but your resting heart rate is significantly elevated and there’s a faint intermittent murmur in your aortic valve. I’d like to send you for more tests.” She starts scribbling something down on some more forms while Dean begins to put his shirt back on, and Cas frowns.

“So, do you have any idea what’s wrong…?” the angel begins to ask insistently, but Dean interrupts him.

“Cas, it’s fine.” He gives a nonplussed wave of his hand as he buttons up his shirt, but the look on his face says he’s anxious to get answers too. “I’ll just go for the other tests.”

Cas scowls, then tries not to for Dean’s sake. “But do you know what the problem might be? At all?” he asks the doctor again, making an effort to not sound impatient.

She sighs, giving him a look that’s a mixture of slightly exasperated but mostly apologetic. “It could still be a number of things, but the good news is that nothing I’ve picked up so far seems severely malignant. The murmur could turn out to be benign and I can’t find an obvious cause for the angina, but that’s why I’d like to run more tests.” She turns back to Dean to hold out the forms to him that’s just filled in. “I’m referring you to the hospital for an EKG and an echocardiogram. They’re nothing to worry about; it’ll just be a more thorough non-invasive exam of your heart, checking its electrical activity, how it’s beating… If you could take these forms to the front desk and they’ll arrange an appointment at the hospital for you.”

Dean accepts the papers from her and raises an eyebrow as his eyes scan over them. “Alright, thanks, doc,” he says, finishing shrugging on his jacket.

Cas is subdued as they leave the exam room and head to the clinic’s reception desk as instructed. He’s still scowling moodily as they cross the parking lot, and Dean finally calls him on it when they’re back in the Impala. “Alright, what’s eating you? You’ve been looking like somebody clipped your wings ever since we got out.”

The look on Cas’ face only darkens further. “I could have done all that, Dean,” he mumbles moodily. “Listened to your heart, felt it… I _did_ do all that, and we’re still no closer to finding out what’s wrong.”

Dean’s outlook is decidedly more optimistic as he gives a casual shrug. “Hey, we’ve got these,” he says, brandishing the paperwork he’s been given with his appointment times and other information about the tests. “We are getting closer, Cas. The doc said she didn’t find anything majorly wrong, so just take the good news.”

“That’s not good news, Dean. It’s no news.”

“I guess… but come on, don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy watching.” He winks mischievously and gives Cas a playful nudge with his elbow in an attempt to lighten the angel’s mood.

It earns him a slightly reluctant smile. “Don’t pretend _you_ didn’t enjoy it.”

“Hey, I’m not. Doctor was hot, man. Not gonna say I minded her examining me at all, but…”

He trails off then, prompting Cas to ask, “But what?”

“But she wasn’t you.”

The smile that spreads over Cas’ face then is far more open and genuine. He basks in the warmth prompted by Dean’s admission for a moment before his expression grows serious again, anxiety returning. “How are you feeling, Dean?”

“I’m great, Cas. Really.”

“You mean that? Don’t lie for my sake, Dean, please. Just be honest with me. You’ve not experienced any chest pain again?”

“No, Cas, I swear. I’m fine. If there’s something wrong, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

The sentence hangs in the air for the space of a few heartbeats while the pair of them stare silently at each other, Dean’s expression soft and reassuring while Cas’ is troubled, but steadily easing. “Alright,” the angel says after a few moments, a tentative smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Then good.” He leans over towards the driver’s side suddenly, grasping at the collar of Dean’s jacket to pull him forward into a kiss. Their lips collide none-too-gently, but the kiss itself becomes tender as they both seek out the comfort the other provides. Cas’ fingers slip from Dean’s jacket to press against the pulse in his throat, and then dip lower, unpopping a few buttons on his shirt so that Cas can slide a hand beneath the material. The angel’s fingertips roam eagerly over Dean’s skin, seeking out the steady thumping of Dean’s heart in his chest that Cas has spent the past two hours craving to feel. Dean happily lets him, moving his own hand to the back of Cas’ and holding it there.

After a few too-short moments, Cas pulls back by just a fraction of an inch, his eyes roaming over Dean’s face in concern. “Still good?”

Dean’s smile in return is relaxed and easy. “Even better.” He leans in to resume the kiss again, and the pair of them forget all else they were meant to be worried about.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry for the ridiculous delay in posting this. I've had this planned for ages but I've been so busy with work. Since I handed my dissertation in yesterday, I'm trying to get back on top of things now. The final chapter should be posted fairly soon. Thank you all so much for your patience. It really means a lot that people want to keep reading.

Cas is sitting in on the exam again. He hadn’t exactly given Dean the option this time: he wanted to be there for the test, and wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Not that it was an answer Dean was inclined to give. The angel is currently perched on a chair a couple of meters from where Dean is lying shirtless on the exam table, scowling slightly as a technician attaches stickers to his chest. Cas purses his lips, trying to mask his amusement at the disgruntled look on Dean’s face. Dean always gets annoyed by the wires. The stickers take up too much space on his skin and the leads get in the way whenever he wants to move, and it’s _especially_ irritating when Cas is just sat there watching rather than being the one to attach them.

Over the technician’s shoulder, Dean shoots Cas a look of frustration. It’s painted plain on his face that he’d rather it just be the two of them in the room, nobody to stop them doing what they will while Cas takes the echo machine for a spin. But instead, it’s somebody else who’s entirely in control of how much of Dean’s heart is revealed to Cas. That’s one thing Dean is definitely curious and nervous about, wondering how both of them will react when the machine is switched on, but the look on Cas’ face only ramps up the tension further rather than help put Dean at ease.

When the rather bored looking medical technician finishes up getting the electrodes in place, Dean feels his mouth go try as the machine is switched on. Cas’ eyes dart ever so slightly faster than his to the monitor screen, where a blue line has started running across the bottom spiking in time with Dean’s heartbeat. Dean can already feel the muscle working hard inside his chest, nervous energy driving it to kick harder into his ribs, and he knows that the tech can already tell it’s abnormally fast. He licks his lips and then glances back at Cas, who’s still staring transfixed at the monitor screen. The sheer intensity of his expression makes Dean’s stomach squirm.

He hears the technician give a sigh, and then remark rather disinterestedly on Dean’s rapid heartbeat. “Your heart rate’s elevated. Did you take fifteen minutes of rest before we started the test?”

Dean swallows, trying to rehydrate his mouth and mask his nerves before he answers. “Yeah. Just been lying on this table until you got here, like the nurse told me.” He thinks he sounds reasonably relaxed.

“And have you consumed any caffeine before you arrived at the hospital?”

“Didn’t even have coffee for breakfast this morning. I, uh…” Dean makes the mistake of glancing at Cas again at that point, which makes his heart stutter. “Guess I’m just nervous.”

The tech just nods. “Alright. I see you’ve been scheduled for an EKG as well, so we can continue as long as you’re feeling comfortable.”

Dean clears his throat. “I’m fine.”

Even if he doesn’t quite sound convincing, the technician doesn’t seem all that bothered as he proceeds to pick up the bottle of ultrasound gel. “Alright. This may be a little cold…” He doesn’t give much warning before he begins to dispense it on Dean’s chest, prompting a slight squirm. Dean’s face scrunches in distaste at the coldness of the viscous liquid clinging to his skin, but another look at Cas only makes him scowl harder as he could swear the angel is smirking at him.

 _Yeah, you try having some stranger smear weird smelling jello all over you and see how you like it,_ he feels like commenting, but bites his tongue.

“Okay, then,” the tech continues, having finished prepping the spot on Dean’s chest for the ultrasound wand. “Keep breathing normally. Let’s take a look at your ticker…” He raises the instrument and then brings it to rest against Dean’s chest, taking the hunter by surprise with the sheer amount of pressure he’s applying. Dean grits his teeth, glancing awkwardly down at his own chest where he sees the wand pressing hard into his skin at the same time as a whooshing noise hits his ears.

He’s only staring at his chest for a moment before craning his neck to get a better view of the screen again, heart stuttering with nerves. He can’t help feeling so vulnerable like this: this hidden, usually private part of him being probed and put on display for anyone to see. If it was just Cas, he honestly thinks he’d be enjoying it, but the fact that it’s a technician having to do this puts him on edge. _Come on, you need this to fix your health,_ he tells himself, but that does nothing to calm him as his eyes fall on the display on screen.

The image is grainy, black-and-white, not something Dean would have recognised as a heart at all, but it is very clearly _moving._ He can see rhythmic fluttering and contracting of the shapes on screen, far livelier than anticipated, and can hear the whooshing of his blood with each heartbeat. It’s not the sound he’s grown accustomed to: the regular percussive snapping of his heart valves whenever Cas lets him listen, but higher pitched, almost alien sounding so that he can hardly believe it’s caused by the organ inside him. He’s so taken aback by the sight and sound of his heart that for a moment he forgets to breathe.

It’s only a couple of rapid heartbeats later that he notices movement behind the technician’s back: Cas standing up and striding purposefully and silently forward. The expression on the angel’s face is at once nervewracking and thrilling. Dean’s too confused and taken aback to react immediately, save for his heart giving another emphatic flutter, but before the technician has had chance to slide the wand over Dean’s chest to investigate further, Castiel’s palm has flattened itself over the tech’s forehead and he’s slumped down with his chin on his chest, unconscious.

That wasn’t something Dean was prepared for. “Whoa, Cas, what the hell?!” he suddenly blurts out, eyes widening at how calmly and efficiently Cas had done that. “I thought we were supposed to actually be getting a diagnosis?”

Cas stops his shocked outburst with a pacifying finger to his lips, the angel’s other hand going to retrieve the wand from the technician’s slack fingers. “Shh, he’ll only be out for a few minutes.”

Dean obediently falls silent, although his heart is jumping even more violently within his chest, reacting to the angel’s touch. The pair of them lock eyes, and Dean thinks he can’t remember what breathing is.

“He didn’t seem to care about helping you, Dean. I can do a better job myself,” Cas whispers softly. “Now…” At that point he raises the wand to settle over Dean’s heart again, pressing firmly so that the display on the screen springs back to life. The angel glances up at it and smiles. “There’s a few things I want to try…”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I'd try and be quicker this time, so here's the final chapter! I may still be pursuing this particular plotline a bit further, but I also have other things lined up for the series, so all in good time.

Dean feels his heart start to pound even harder as Cas slides the ultrasound wand across his chest. He wants to look at the screen, but he can’t take his eyes off of Cas’ face, who’s staring enraptured at the blurry black-and-white image on display. Without even blinking, Cas’ lets his free hand move to start trailing down Dean’s side, fingers caressing the bare skin of his chest until he reaches the waistband of Dean’s jeans. The hunter gasps, taken by surprise as Cas’ hand travels further over his hip and down his thigh, and the angel smiles as he sees Dean’s heart flutter in response.

“Look,” Cas whispers, finally returning his gaze to Dean’s face to check the hunter does as instructed. “See it.”

With his mouth dry and heart pounding, Dean obeys. He twists his neck until the screen is in view again, and he’s able to see the rapidly quivering shapes of his heart valves and contracting muscle on the screen. The sight only makes his pulse pound even faster. It’s surreal that they’re even doing this, that Cas is able to _see_ his heart…

“That’s it, Dean,” Cas says softly, and Dean is caught off guard by the pure depth of emotion in his voice. It isn’t even lust. More like…amazement. Awe. “That’s your heart. That’s what’s keeping you alive…”

Dean gulps awkwardly, not sure where to look as he becomes equally entranced by the image of his heart and the look on Cas’ face as he stares at it. He’s not even sure he can put into words what it feels like as he realises that Cas is looking that way because of him; _for_ him… All he manages is a breathless gasp. “Cas…”

At that point, Cas brings his eyes to rest on Dean’s face again, giving him a smile that’s brimming with love, and at the same time a hint of mischief. “I want to see what I can get it to do…” he says softly, voice like gravel, and then Dean feels the hand on the outside of his thigh move to begin creeping up the inside of his opposite leg. Dean’s heart stutters, and he trembles. As he feels Cas’ hand finally creep high enough to cup him through his jeans, he lets out a groan. His heart is going crazy, kicking like a wild mustang in his chest, and he knows Cas can see every violent beat. It still doesn’t feel quite real that they’re doing this, when the door’s unlocked and the medical tech is still slumped unconscious next to them, but the risk of being caught only adds to the thrill.

“ _Fuck_ , Cas, don’t…” Dean moans as he feels Cas give him another squeeze, not doing anything to help the fact he’s uncomfortably and inappropriately hard. Dean feels a horrible ache of disappointment as Cas pulls his hand momentarily away, raising an eyebrow before Dean hastily and breathlessly clarifies, “No, I mean, don’t stop…”

Grinning, Cas returns his hand to palming Dean’s cock through his jeans, watching the way his heart responds on screen. It’s going wild, valves fluttering, blood rushing to make the whooshing of the machine sound like a near constant hum. The angel is definitely enjoying the show. “Looks like someone’s excited,” he comments mischievously, glancing down at Dean’s face again.

Dean’s eyelids are fluttering as he can’t decide if he wants to keep them open or just give in and let them slip closed with bliss. “What happened to this being about my health?” he huffs breathlessly, the rational part of his brain battling it out with the side that wants him to just lay back and enjoy this. “Are we seriously doing this?”

“This _is_ about your health, Dean,” Cas says, repositioning the wand and enjoying the new view. “I want to examine your heart for myself, and…well, they didn’t refer you for a stress test, so I thought I best do one.”

“ _Fuck,_ Cas,” Dean groans as he feels Cas stroke him as firmly as possible through the stiff denim. He half wants Cas to just unzip his jeans and jerk him off properly, if it weren’t for the fact he still has a sense of how weird and inappropriate this is.

Cas just chuckles at his reaction. “I take it you’re feeling comfortable? I need you to tell me if you feel any chest pain again.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say _comfortable_ ,” Dean replies, although he’s far from being in discomfort either. “Look, man, seriously? It’s not like we’re on our own in here…”

“No,” Cas states matter-of-factly, and Dean is surprised by the weight of his own disappointment as he feels the angel pull his hand away. Despite his protests, a rather large part of him wishes they could continue. “Remind me to finish up with that later, then,” Cas tells him with a wink. “I _am_ trying to check your heart, Dean. I need to see it when it’s slower.”

Still painfully aware of just how rapidly his heart is pounding inside his chest, Dean doubts that there’s much chance of it slowing. At least not while it’s on the screen for Cas to see. “I don’t think that’s gonna happen any time soon,” he says apologetically, but Cas looks nonplussed.

“I can help with that,” the angel says, letting his hand move higher up Dean’s body this time so that Dean feels fingers trail lightly up his throat and then come to hover over his chin. Cas fixes him with a steady gaze. “Do you trust me?”

Dean barely even needs to consider the answer. His “Yes,” is instinctive, natural and absolute.

Cas nods in acknowledgement. “Breathe deep,” he instructs, and Dean has barely two seconds to suck in a deep breath before Cas covers both his mouth and nose with his hand. Dean’s chest shudders once at the unexpected sensation of being unable to exhale, but his eyes never leave Cas’ face. Not even to try and glance at the screen as he feels the flutter in his heart. “Push against me,” Cas orders, and understanding what the angel is trying to do, Dean attempts to breathe out against the force of Cas holding his air in.

Immediately, he feels the pressure within his chest begin to skyrocket. His already rapid heartbeat starts to become erratic, beats skipping and thumping in irregular rhythms. It’s uncomfortable, but he keeps going, knowing he has to push through in order to get his heart to slow. Cas tears his gaze away from Dean’s face to watch the monitor again, seeing the chaotic, unco-ordinated fluttering of Dean’s heart before finally the pressure in Dean’s chest causes his heartbeat to even out and slow. The regular, even contractions show as steady movement on the monitor, while the whooshing noise of Dean’s blood takes on a steady, constant rhythm.

“Alright, breathe out slowly,” Cas tells Dean as he pulls his hand away, and he feels the slight tremors in Dean’s chest as it gradually deflates. He watches the monitor for a few more heartbeats before looking down at Dean again, who seems calmer and, fortunately, less aroused. The angel gives him a smile. “You feeling okay?”

Dean swallows and takes another steady breath. “Yeah…better,” he murmurs in response. “What was that, again? Valsalsa maneuver?”

“Valsalva,” Cas corrects him gently. “It’s certainly made your heart steadier. You’re still not in any pain?”

“No, nothing since that episode the other week,” Dean replies, and Cas is pleased to feel his chest rising and falling steadily with his breathing. “I feel fine, Cas.” Then he grins. “Can’t believe I went to all the trouble of scheduling a doctor’s appointment when we could have just tried stealing one of those echo machines for you to play with.”

“That may have been more trouble than you appear to anticipate,” Cas replies congenially, lips quirking upwards in humor as he considers it. “Although I suppose it would still be an option… Still, it would be good to have a medical professional look at your heart, Dean.”

Dean’s eyes flicker over to the unconscious technician beside him and he raises an eyebrow. “I’m sure he’s doing plenty of looking, being, y’know, _unconscious._ ”

Cas chuckles lightly. “He’s just a technician. The results of the test will get sent to a cardiologist for analysis.”

At that point, Dean gulps. “All the results? Including the ones just now?”

“Yes, including those,” Cas replies, and Dean thinks he can see him smirk just slightly. “It may encourage the doctors to be more…thorough in their analysis, if they see a range of heart rhythms from you. Although I think, given you’ve mostly felt the pain when you’re relaxed, examining the slower rhythms is ideal.”

Dean lets out another heavy breath, returning to watching the movement of his heart on the monitor screen. “You keep this up for too long, it’s not gonna stay steady much longer.”

“I just want a closer look, Dean. The technician will be waking up soon,” Cas replies regretfully as he slides the wand an inch or two further across Dean’s chest, focusing intently on the moving image of his heart. An almost wistful look enters his eyes as he continues. “Although I’d happily keep watching for a long time…”

Dean thinks he agrees with that. He’d gladly let Cas keep watching, if only it meant he got to see that entranced look on the angel’s face for a little while longer. He’s never been made to feel more special or – how to put it? – _treasured_ as when Cas looks at him that way while listening to his heart. The angel getting to see it had only taken things to another level. Dean finds he’s already hoping they’ll get to do this again, and next time, they’ll be alone and won’t get cut short.

Cas finishes up after a few more seconds, having decided he’s seen everything he can for now. There’s some degree of frustration in the way his brow creases momentarily, looking like he hasn’t found the answers he’s looking for, but then it smooths out as he flashes Dean a reassuring grin. “Alright, you just go along with the rest of the exam,” he tells the hunter as he fits the wand back into the technician’s slack grip and backs away again. “But I’ve got a few a few exams of my own I’d like to do on you later.”

Dean feels his stomach flip over at the words and his heart once again starts dancing inside his chest, but he doesn’t get chance to respond before, quite abruptly, the technician wakes up again. He blinks once or twice, only seeming mildly disoriented as he presses the wand back onto Dean’s chest. He doesn’t even seem to realise anything had happened. “Just a warning that I may have to press down quite hard,” he says as he picks up where he left off, not even noticing the interruption as Cas’ final words have left Dean’s heart racing again.

Exchanging one final glance with the angel, who’s grinning at him wickedly behind the tech’s back, Dean closes his eyes and tries not to think of what Cas has lined up for him later.


End file.
